export and sync

Export and Google Sheets

Exporting

Export the project from File ▸ Export as one of:

• CSV
• Excel (.xlsx), with cell values kept as text so identifiers and dates stay unchanged. Project notes become cell comments.
• JSON-LD. Each row records the row it is part of, so the archival arrangement survives. See Groups.
• Zotero (CSL-JSON)
• ZIP Archive, which bundles the data as CSV and JSON-LD with the linked files it points to. Files imported from folders keep the folder paths they were imported from.

Plugins can add their own formats to the same menu.

To convert a .qrate file on a machine without qrate installed, use the online converter. It runs in your browser, so the project never leaves your machine unless you send it to a Google Sheet.

Settings ▸ Table ▸ CSV export shapes the CSV, including the data.csv inside a ZIP archive:

• Byte order mark, on by default, starts the file with a UTF-8 marker. Excel on Windows needs it to show accented letters correctly; turn it off for an older import script that does not expect it.
• Separator is Comma (the default), Semicolon, or Tab. Excel in regions that write decimals with a comma expects semicolons.

Both are defaults a project can override; see Projects.

The save dialog opens in the folder this project last exported to, or beside the project file the first time. It suggests a file named after the project, such as My Collection.csv. qrate writes the export in the background and shows a notice when it is done, or the reason it failed. A ZIP export copies every linked file, so it shows its progress as it goes and offers Cancel. The built-in formats are written to a temporary file first, so a cancelled or failed export leaves any existing file at that path unchanged.

Export always reads every row, regardless of any active filter. See The grid.

No qrate installed? Convert a project in your browser.

Google Sheets

Google Sheets export and sync is off by default. Turn it on in Settings ▸ Google. Until you do, qrate shows no Google Sheets item in its menus.

Once it is on, you can:

• Export to a new Google Sheet with File ▸ Export ▸ New Google Sheet….
• Sync to an existing sheet with File ▸ Export ▸ Sync to Google Sheet…. qrate writes the project into the sheet this project is linked to, or into one you pick through Google's file picker. Sync replaces the entire contents of the spreadsheet's first tab: rows and columns beyond the project's are cleared, and so are the notes an earlier sync left there. Before it writes, qrate names the spreadsheet and asks you to confirm with Replace. Sync goes one way, from qrate to the sheet; edits made in the sheet do not come back into qrate.

qrate writes the new values before it clears anything, so a sync that fails partway does not leave the sheet empty. A notice reports when the export or sync is done, or why it failed.

Project notes are added to the corresponding cells in Google Sheets. Notes on columns are added to the header cells.

Sign-in happens on your own machine. qrate never sees your Google password, and it can reach only the sheets it created or that you picked yourself through Google's file picker. No qrate account or hosted service is involved at any point.

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